Sunday, June 9th, 2019
—– Weather —–
Conditions were generally nice overall today, but some gusty west/northwest winds along the LA to SD coast made for some chop along the beach. Not much change the next few days either, so take advantage of the nice conditions and good fishing while they last.
Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA
Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI
Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —–
Bait Barge Contact Info
Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (6-7)
Mission Bay – 4-7″ sardine (6-3)
Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 4-5″ sardine + 3″ anchovy + mini mackerel. New hours for bait dock. Starting 5/27/19. 5 am-5pm.(6-8).
Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine + 4-5″ anchovy (6-7).
Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – small to medium sardines (6-9)
Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – Live squid (limited amount) & sardine (6-7)
San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (6-3)
Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (6-3)
Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (6-3)
CISCOS Bait Barge – anchovy with some sardine mixed in. (6-8)
G-Fly Premium California Flying Fish Baits
These locations have locally caught frozen flying fish for bluefin in stock…
Hogans Tackle in Dana Point
Dana Landing in Mission Bay
Islands Fishing Tackle in Carson
******************************
INSHORE & ISLANDS Section
******************************
2019 Yellowtail Shootout is coming 6/21 – 6/23
Registration is open! Get your team together for the tournament weekend of June 21-23!
BD Outdoors will host a fun party June 23rd and award prizes to the 1st-5th place teams. The tournament party will also have an amazing raffle where you can win prizes from our sponsors. Lunch will be a bbq provided by Traeger Grills and we will keep your whistle wet thanks to Firestone Walker Brewing. See you at the tourney!
****** Limited Inshore Report ********
The offshore report is taking center stage now with the arrival of yellowfin tuna into areas inside of 50 miles from Point Loma. Much of the available time spent looking for information switched over to getting tuna dope and as a result the inshore report is less complete.
This will likely be the case from now until the tuna leave us in the fall.
There will still be an inshore report everyday but it is going to rely more heavily on member contributions.
Channel Islands
Most of the focus has shifted to Santa Cruz Island this weekend with some pretty good seabass fishing around the east end. You’ve got a shot and finding the seabass anywhere through the stretch from Blue Banks to Hungryman’s Gulch, including Yellow Bluff, Pink Ribbon, Yellow Banks proper, Middle Anchorage, and Smuggler’s. The north side of the island around Chinese Harbor to Prisoner’s is also worth a look and often holds good numbers of halibut, too.
The seabass have primarily been in the 10-25 lb. range with a few bigger standouts up into the 40s, and they’ve been pretty keyed in on red tube baits. There are also a few barracuda and 8-15 lb. yellowtail sprinkled in here and there.
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach
Some yellowtail have shown back up at the Mussel Farm (33 36.900 x 118 06.500) with the afternoon better than the morning today. Slow-trolling sardines or mackerel outside the buoys is a good way to work this area, and if you mark any fish down deep you can shut down and drop yo-yo iron or a sardine on a dropper loop down to them.
The coast below Newport is also showing good signs of life with bass and barracuda biting a little bit. Sean on Flank Speed checked in from this stretch of the coast:
Had a leisurely start as usual from Newport Harbor. Nice day on the water. Got some small to medium sardines and fished the One Spot. Wide open for short barracuda, a few legals in there, and tons of mackerel. Super fun on light tackle. The ticket was small Wax Wing jigs, chrome surface irons, fly lined sardine, and lots of chum. Got a fish every other cast for a few hours.
Slow trolled a big Mack a little further out looking for threshers or anything bigger but no luck.
Catalina Island
Squid
The Long Beach Carnage has been out in front of Avalon all weekend with live squid but sold out this morning.
The Kinley Marie was also sold out as of today.
Contact info:
Long Beach Carnage – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (562) 714-8103.
Kinley Marie – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (323) 742-2807
Fishing
Really, really good yellowtail fishing today at the east end of the island between Avalon and the East End Light, centered around the Can Dump area. The yellows are in the 12-25 lb. range with plenty of them around 18-22 lbs. Several sport boats and private boats got in on this bite and loaded the boat. Fishdope’s Danny and Pam got in on this bite aboard the Gail Force and reported that the yellows ate everything they threw at them. They started out eating flylined sardines, surface iron, and yo-yo iron. When they ran out of sardines they switched to squid and the yellows gobbled that up just fine too. They also caught them on sliding sinker rigs and dropper loops.
Private boaters with limited bait capacity can do well in this zone by slow-trolling sardines or mackerel along the dropoff in 90-120 ft. of water, and you can shut down on marks and drift with sardines and surface iron too. Please be courteous and give other boaters plenty of room, especially off the stern of any boats anchored up and chumming. You’ll do better by seeking out your own spot of yellows anyway instead of getting frustrated watching schools sucked in tight to other boats’ chumlines.
On the back side there are reports of seabass being on the beaches in tight in like 20-25 feet of water. The west end backside around West Cove has been the primary area but you’ve got a chance at seabass all around the island where you find good conditions. There are some nice 20-45 lb. seabass around right now so you’ll want to rig up with 30 or 40 lb. gear even while in tight to the beach.
Look for that classic milky green water with downhill current flowing into the spot.
If the seabass are there you should see them on the sonar as they mark really good. (Do your best to be stealthy! Many experts say that once you mark them you should shut down the sonar as the seabass in general don’t like noise. Shut the engine off too leaving only the bait pump running. When you drop the anchor hand over hand the chain. Don’t let it bounce loudly on the side of the boat)
There is a decent chance of finding a few yellowtail and halibut on these beaches as well.
Lastly there is a fair amount of barracuda and some bonito scattered all around the Island. The calico bass bite is also pretty good at any kelp or boiler rocks you can find.
San Clemente Island
Still plenty of yellowtail around the island and the key is finding the current. Good current = good yellowtail fishing. No current = no bite.
The yellows are running in 2 different size classes, with some nice 20-35 lb. fish and some smaller 6-15 pounders.
The larger grade fish is being found in Pyramid Cove on the squid bed near the Caves in 90 feet of water, along with some seabass. You may also find the same mix up west around the Dunes and West Cove.
Dropper loop live squid is the ticket here has been between 4am and 8am, with an occasional re-bite around midday. Fish these with HEAVY GEAR! 40-50lb is perfect. You do not want to have a hooked yellow or seabass in the water very long or it will become a sea lion snack.
The smaller grade yellows are spread out along the front side with the best concentration being found in the Gold Bluff/White Rock area. These yellows want the squid but when in a biting mood they have also been caught on the sardine and the surface iron.
Sea lions are a MAJOR issue! While the yellowtail and seabass bite has been on and off the sea lion problem is everyday!
They are stealing a lot of hooked fish and are not making things easy to catch squid either.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones.
Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
Conditions have generally been best above Dana Point, with dirty water between Dana and Oceanside along with some patches of red tide. If you can find clean water with some current the bass fishing is pretty good, especially with the small finbait now available at both Dana and Oceanside bait barges.
Rockfish and sculpin are biting at Box Canyon. The sculpin in on the shallow area from 180 to 200 feet while the rockfish are on the deeper stones from 220 to 240 feet.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
There’s still some streaky red tide around Del Mar to Torrey Pines but the La Jolla area has cleaned up a little better. Keep an eye out for an occasional spot of yellowtail on the meter or under terns outside Northwest.
Point Loma has cleaned up a little bit towards the north end of the Point from Green Tank to OB Pier, but it’s still on the dirty side farther south. Bass are biting a little bit and there’s even an occasional white seabass cruising through the kelp, but without any current it’ll be tough to get much going. Shallow water rockfish are biting ok but that’s about it otherwise.
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each.
Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——– Mexican waters ———
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico ñ An Angler’s Guide To Baja
by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
The water has still been fairly green for the most part lately, but every once in a while a little patch of cleaner water will push in to North Island or the weather side of South Island and get a few yellowtail into a biting mood. Keep your expectations low and you may get pleasantly surprised, but don’t count on bringing home much aside from rockfish and maybe a few bass on the shallow structure spots.
Torrey fished the islands yesterday after striking out offshore and also found some biting yellowtail along the weather side of South Island. He picked up 3 yellowtail and a barracuda trolling Rapalas from noon to 2:30pm and metered a bunch of schools in the 67 degree water.
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com.
Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. You can purchase bracelets for $5 per person per day at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle Shop, and Dana Landing Market & Fuel Dock. You will need to provide your boat name, boat owner’s name, number of passengers, and dates you will be in the reserve areas, but you don’t need any other special IDs or info to purchase the bracelets. Everyone on board must have a bracelet to enter the Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve boundaries are now available on the FishDope Charts (click the Closures layer). For more information, please see https://www.bdoutdoors.com/pacific-islands-biosphere-reserve/ and for the full Biosphere Reserve Declaration click here: (may need to refresh a few times to display the document ñ in Spanish)
The boundaries of the Biosphere reserve:
N32 20.000′ to N32 29.000′, and W117 12.000′ to W117 20.000′
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject
**************************
The Mexican Navy is there and checking boats on a regular basis for Vessel Temporary Import Permit and Valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway).
Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
******************************
OFFSHORE Section
******************************
——- MEXICAN WATERS ————
Corner / San Salvador Knoll / 226-302
This zone continues to see hit-or-miss fishing. There are big stretches of empty, barren water and dry kelp paddies, but a few boats are still finding little pockets with a random yellowfin jig strike or two or maybe some bluefin meter marks at 150-300 ft. This is still the “big bluefin” zone with some very nice 100+ lb. fish taken lately but it’s almost exclusively a deep meter mark deal.
Many of the bluefin in this zone are sonar fish and the biters are coming on 50lb fluoro with a 4-6oz torpedo sinker rubber banded to the line about 4 feet up from the small 1 to 1/0 circle hook.
Most of these yellowfin are troll fish with only a few bait fish. They are biting Halcos, cedar plugs and feathers. Black/purple and Mexican flag colors are working well, along with classic blue/white.
Also be on the look out for kelps as there are some around holding yellowtail, but in general the ones that are actually holding are few and far between.
Deep End Mike checked in from the 302 to the Corner:
5:45 am at the bait barge then Point Loma to 302. Water temp was 65.5 and glassy calm with cloudy skies. Stopped at 5 dry paddies on the way, plus one big gray whale and lots of porpoises.
Turned to the 226 and started to troll in the nice clean blue water. Reached the 226 and turned to the Corner and the water warmed to 66 degrees. Picked up a double jig strike at 32 31.799 x 117 41.007 on a cedar plug and a blue feather. One fell off but we boated one 40# yellowfin tuna. Kept trolling to the Corner and then half way to the lower 9 with more dry paddies along the way. Water started greening up about 5 miles west of the 9 Mile Bank with 66.5 degree water.
475 Knuckle / Upper Hidden Bank / Hidden Bank to outside Todos Santos Island
The 371 area has been pretty dry for a few days now and most of the activity is between the Upper Hidden Bank, 475 Knuckle, and Hidden Bank. There are some nice schools of 30-60 lb. grade bluefin in this zone, with an occasional yellowfin too but not nearly as many as to the south. You may also find an occasional spot of bigger 100-130 lb. bluefin here as well.
The pattern the last few days has been for bluefin to show as meter marks from 150-300 ft. in the morning, and then they come up and breeze or foam up later in the afternoon. The meter marks have been biting a little bit better as the surface fish have tended to sink out when you approach them, but if you get on the right school and chum heavily you might get it to stick to the boat.
PM Update: The fish didn’t show quite as well this afternoon but there was still decent signal that they’re still in the area. They were mostly just up and down very quickly and didn’t cooperate for most.
31 57 x 117 11 Bluefin breezer in the afternoon
32 02 x 117 15 Bluefin breezers and an occasional foamer scattered over a several-mile area
31 45 x 117 06 Bluefin meter marks
31 44 x 117 05 Bluefin meter marks
31 42 x 117 05 Bluefin meter marks
Inner Banks / 238 / 295
This area has a little more yellowfin than bluefin, especially out towards the 295. A 5×5 mile block centered around 31 30 x 117 30 is the primary zone for these 5-25 lb. yellowfin. Jig strikes are getting most of the fish but an occasional stop will turn into a bait bite on flylined sardines with some steady chum.
1140 Finger / Lower 500
The Lower 500 area is holding a nice mix of both bluefin and yellowfin.
The bluefin are up on the surface and down from 50 to 200 feet. The bluefin are ranging from 20-30lbs up to the low 100’s with quite a few in the 60-80lb class. Some schools are straight 25-30lb tuna and some are straight big ones so it just depends what you run into.
The yellowfin are ranging from as little as 4lb up to 25-30lbs and are mostly troll fish with not very many bait fish. You may also find yellowfin moving through in flurries while on a bluefin plunker bite.
31 11 x 117 00 Bluefin
31 04 x 117 08 Mixed bluefin and yellowfin
*******************************************************************
All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful.
If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email.
reports@www.fishdope.com
1 (619) 992-6099
Saturday June 8th 2019
Evening Updates marked in RED
—– Weather —–
Very nice early in the day with flat seas and very little wind.
The afternoon hours saw a little wind and chop but nothing serious.
These same conditions are forecast to last the next 7 to 10 days.
As always, please keep a close eye on the latest forecast and conditions for your local area before you head out!
Synopsis for Inshore Waters of the Southern California Coast
Weak onshore flow will continue through Wednesday, with a weak and intermittent eddy at times.
Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA
Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI
Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —–
Bait Barge Contact Info
Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (6-7)
Mission Bay – 4-7″ sardine (6-3)
Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 4-5″ sardine + 3″ anchovy + mini mackerel. New hours for bait dock. Starting 5/27/19. 5 am-5pm.(6-8).
Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine + 4-5″ anchovy (6-7).
Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – sardine & anchovy (6-2)
Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – Live squid (limited amount) & sardine (6-7)
San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (6-3)
Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (6-3)
Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (6-3)
CISCOS Bait Barge – anchovy with some sardine mixed in. (6-8)
G-Fly Premium California Flying Fish Baits
These locations have locally caught frozen flying fish for bluefin in stock…
Hogans Tackle in Dana Point
Dana Landing in Mission Bay
Islands Fishing Tackle in Carson
******************************
INSHORE & ISLANDS Section
******************************
2019 Yellowtail Shootout is coming 6/21 – 6/23
Registration is open! Get your team together for the tournament weekend of June 21-23!
BD Outdoors will host a fun party June 23rd and award prizes to the 1st-5th place teams. The tournament party will also have an amazing raffle where you can win prizes from our sponsors. Lunch will be a bbq provided by Traeger Grills and we will keep your whistle wet thanks to Firestone Walker Brewing. See you at the tourney!
****** Limited Inshore Report ********
The offshore report is taking center stage now with the arrival of yellowfin tuna into areas inside of 50 miles from Point Loma. Much of the available time spent looking for information switched over to getting tuna dope and as a result the inshore report is less complete.
This will likely be the case from now until the tuna leave us in the fall.
There will still be an inshore report everyday but it is going to rely more heavily on member contributions.
Channel Islands
Reports coming in from Santa Rosa today sound like the seabass fishing is still pretty slow and there is just the odd yellowtail and big halibut biting right now.
We did hear of at least 1 boat with a couple of seabass but we hear most blanked.
Lingcod and rockfish action though is great like it normally is.
Yesterday the 10-25lb seabass went off in the greater Yellow Banks area which spreads from about the Blue Banks to Smuggler’s on the south side of Santa Cruz Island
Not just seabass either as the boats also caught some 8-15lb class yellowtail and some big barracuda too.
The hot ticket was those red crab color plastic tube jigs. Some were also caught on red and mint color surface iron.
Today the seabass bite at Santa Cruz is reported to be much slower and there was a ton of boats in the area too. Might be a reason for the slower bite.
Santa Monica Bay
Everywhere else is waking up but the Bay is still very much on the slow side for surface fish.
Still no sign of any legal size barracuda, no yellowtail or bonito.
There has been the odd seabass at Rocky but not enough to target them.
All that is currently biting is the same old stuff. Rockfish and sculpin. Hit the South Bank for the rockfish and hit the deep end of the El Segundo Pipe and the hard bottom just to the west of there for the sculpin.
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach
We did not get a report from this area as of post time today.
It is very likely very little if anything has changed though.
If there is something exciting to report we’ll add in an evening update.
Repost from yesterday;
Guys are starting to catch a few barracuda on the Horseshoe now. They are scattered about a little between the Middle Grounds and the Outside rock. A couple of guys did ok on cudas in the 30-35″ class by trolling the smaller X-Raps and Rapalas.
Watch for birds working bait. Barracuda will very often be on these.
Also be watching for bird schools on the Huntington Flats. This is a very common area for barracuda to show up
In other action the boats continue to catch rockfish on the Southeast Bank and sculpin on the various stone piles scattered around the 150
Catalina Island
Squid;
The Long Beach Carnage is out in front of Avalon selling squid.
They plan to be there through the weekend if at all possible.
The Kinely Marie is at Arrow Point with full tanks of squid for sale
Contact info;
Long Beach Carnage – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (562) 714-8103.
Kinely Marie – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (323) 742-2807
Fishing;
Guess the big story is those white seabass went off again back side west. Along with them the area is also seeing good numbers of yellowtail.
The seabass are big fish running from 25 to about 40-45lbs.
The yellows are the same grade as the front side fish. Mostly in the 8-15lb class.
As you have probably already guessed these were all live squid fish. They were caught with the sliding sinker rig, leadhead and on the dropper loop.
On the front side yellowtail have been showing well on the west end spots from Eagle Reef up to the West End. There has also been good showings from Red Bluff to Little Gibraltar.
These front side fish have been more than willing to bite the sardine. They are biting the live squid though too and some are biting the surface iron too once they are chummed up good.
On the back side there are reports of seabass being on the beaches in tight in like 20-25 feet of water.
Look for that classic milky green water with downhill current flowing into the spot.
If the seabass are there you should see them on the sonar as they mark really good. (Do your best to be stealthy! Many experts say that once you mark them you should shut down the sonar as the seabass in general don’t like noise. Shut the engine off too leaving only the bait pump running. When you drop the anchor hand over hand the chain. Don’t let it bounce loudly on the side of the boat)
There is a decent chance of finding a few yellowtail and halibut on these beaches as well.
Lastly there is a fair amount of barracuda and some bonito scattered all around the Island. The calico bass bite is also pretty good at any kelp or boiler rocks you can find.
******* Important General Info **********
Here is what you need to be one of those winning….
1. Live Squid. With out it you might score but the odds greatly favor having squid. Someday there is good fishing with the sardine and the surface iron but in general this is not the case.
2. Clean Water. The yellows right now seem to be concentrated in areas where the water is pretty clean and warm.
3. Downhill Current. This might be the most important of all as yellowtail just simply won’t bite without water movement.
4. Location. You have heard this before. It is all about location, location, location. If you are in an area devoid of life the odds of catching a yellowtail is very slim.
*******
San Clemente Island
This Island has plenty of yellowtail and if there is current there is generally good yellowtail action.
Yesterday was a good day with most boats doing quite well on them along with a sample of seabass.
This morning the early word was the current was still running and the yellows were biting. Some had a slow morning. Some didn’t but by mid morning most had at least some action on the yellows and some were doing good.
The yellows are running in 2 different size classes.
There is some 20-35lb stuff and some 6-15lb yellows.
The larger grade fish is being found in Pyramid Cove on the squid bed near the Caves in 90 feet of water.
There is some seabass on this stuff too.
Dropper loop live squid is the ticket here has been between 4am and 8am although there was a pretty good bite at mid day yesterday and the day before.
Fish these with HEAVY GEAR! 40-50lb is perfect. You do not want to have a hooked yellow or seabass in the water very long or it will become a sea lion snack.
The smaller grade yellows are spread out along the front side with the best concentration being found in the Gold Bluff/White Rock area. These yellows want the squid but when in a biting mood they have also been caught on the sardine and the surface iron.
Sea lions are a MAJOR issue! While the yellowtail and seabass bite has been on and off the sea lion problem is everyday!
They are stealing a lot of hooked fish and are not making things easy to catch squid either.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones.
Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
The bait barge got a load of anchovy and the guys that are grabbing a scoop of these and running up north of Dana are finding the calico bass very eager to come out and play.
Salt creek is working as is Monarch Bay and the Dana Headlands.
South of Dana the water starts turning dirty and from just below Box Canyon to past Oceanside to at least Del Mar the water is dirty or full blown red tide.
There is some bass willing to bite IF you can find pockets of clean water. Nothing though in the red tide.
Rockfish and sculpin are biting at Box Canyon. The sculpin in on the shallow area from 180 to 200 feet while the rockfish are on the deeper stones from 220 to 240 feet.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
Water is improving and the red tide appears to be clearing out in the La Jolla area There is a little chatter about yellowtail again although we did not hear of any today. Yesterday though there were at least 2 or 3 caught that were know of for sure.
Other than that it is all about rockfish.
In the Point Loma area the water is reported to be dirty green to brown with patches of red tide.
Little bit of rockfish but not much else. Current running out of the south.
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each.
Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——– Mexican waters ———
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico ñ An Angler’s Guide To Baja
by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
Very little info so far today and what we got wasn’t good.
Rockfish are biting well to the NE of North Island and to the SW of South Island.
We did not here of any yellowtail caught today as of the 4pm post time.
If we do get info of some yellowtail action today we’ll post it up in the evening update.
Evening Report from Captain Doug on the Sueno;
Quick solo trip to the islands today. North and middle island were dead. Headed to South Island hooked two yellows on small Rapalas
Stopped by for some rockfish on the way home! Sea lions were bad!
See you on the water!
Captain Doug on the Sueno
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com.
Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. You can purchase bracelets for $5 per person per day at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle Shop, and Dana Landing Market & Fuel Dock. You will need to provide your boat name, boat owner’s name, number of passengers, and dates you will be in the reserve areas, but you don’t need any other special IDs or info to purchase the bracelets. Everyone on board must have a bracelet to enter the Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve boundaries are now available on the FishDope Charts (click the Closures layer). For more information, please see https://www.bdoutdoors.com/pacific-islands-biosphere-reserve/ and for the full Biosphere Reserve Declaration click here: (may need to refresh a few times to display the document ñ in Spanish)
The boundaries of the Biosphere reserve:
N32 20.000′ to N32 29.000′, and W117 12.000′ to W117 20.000′
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject
**************************
The Mexican Navy is there and checking boats on a regular basis for Vessel Temporary Import Permit and Valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway).
Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
******************************
OFFSHORE Section
******************************
——- MEXICAN WATERS ————
Corner / San Salvador Knoll / 226-302
This area saw some yellowfin jig stops yesterday and again today along with some spots of 60-80lb bluefin and some schools of 100-150lb class bluefin.
It is very hit and miss though with some guys reporting in saying the area is a desert and other reporting in finding one or more schools of tuna.
Many of the bluefin in this zone are sonar fish and the biters are coming on 50lb fluoro with a 4-6oz torpedo sinker rubber banded to the line about 4 feet up from the small 1 to 1/0 circle hook.
Most of these yellowfin are troll fish with only a few bait fish. They are biting the Halco’s, cedar plugs and the feathers. Black/purple and Mexican flag colors are working well.
Also be on the look out for kelps as there are some around holding yellowtail.
The area is all west of the 226-302 and most of it is well below the Corner although there is some signal of yellowfin now very close to the US-Mex Border.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or yellowfin were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowfin were caught:
32 30 x 117 41 – Big bluefin
32 29 x 117 42 – Kelp paddy yellowtail
32 27 x 117 53 – Bluefin
371 / 425-101 / 475 Knuckle / Upper Hidden Bank / Hidden Bank
This zone is still producing both bluefin and yellowfin and some kelp paddy yellowtail although it is very hit and miss
From what info we got it sounded like the area in towards the 475 Knuckle was best for bluefin, although not very many and the area between the 371 and the Upper Hidden was nearly dead.
The Hidden Bank proper was found to have scattered yellowfin jig stops. These were all said to be in the 15 to 20lb class.
The Hidden Bank area and in to the East also saw some spots of bluefin in the afternoon.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or yellowfin were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowfin were caught:
32 05 x 117 15 – Bluefin
31 56 x 117 29 – Double yellowfin jig stop. 1 bait fish.
31 54 x 117 22 – Bluefin
31 53 x 117 20 – Yellowfin on a popper
31 52 x 117 26 – Yellowfin jig stop (cedar plug)
31 52 x 117 20 – Several spots of bluefin up at 2:30pm
31 49 x 117 26 – Yellowfin jig stop with bait fish
West of Banda Bank / 238 / 450 out to the Double 220 / 295
Boats in this big area are finding a decent amount of bluefin.
These bluefin are mostly in the 30 to 50lb class. The bluefin are both on the surface and coming off sonar marks and biting the sardine fished on 40lb fluorocarbon.
There are a few yellowfin around too. These are mostly just single and double jig stops with no bait fish BUT that said we do know of one boat that got a pretty good bait bite going after a single jig stop.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or yellowfin were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowfin were caught:
31 41 x 117 04 – Bluefin
31 39 x 117 06 – Bluefin
31 37 x 117 01 – Yellowfin jig stop
31 31 x 117 01 – Bluefin
31.30 x 117 37 – Yellowfin jig stop
31 29 x 117 34 – Bluefin
Double 220 / 295 and east to the 1140 Finger / Lower 500
Bluefin and yellowfin both are scattered around through this area too with boats concentrated today mostly just below the Lower 500 area.
Most of what they are finding today are bluefin.
The bluefin are up on the surface and down from 50 to 200 feet. Most schools are up on the surface today. The bluefin are ranging from 20-30lbs up to the low 100’s with quite a few in the 60-80lb class. Some schools are straight 25-30lb tuna and some are straight big ones so it just depends what you run into.
The yellowfin are ranging from as little as 4lb up to 25-30lbs and are mostly troll fish with not very many bait fish.
They are biting the Halco’s, cedar plugs and the feathers. Black/purple and Mexican flag colors are working well.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or kelp paddy yellowtail were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowtail were caught:
31 06 x 117 01 – Bluefin
31 05 x 117 00 – Bluefin
31 04 x 116 58 – Bluefin
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All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful.
If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email.
reports@www.fishdope.com
1 (619) 992-6099
Friday June 7th 2019
Evening Updates marked in RED
—– Weather —–
Inshore waters;
Pretty good weather again today. Little bit more wind than yesterday but still very nice.
The forecast is for this to continue for the next 7 to 10 days!
Sweet!!!!!!
Outer Islands;
The Western Channel Islands are under a Gale Warning today and tonight for winds in the 20-30 knot range and with gusts to over 35 knots. Yuck!
Good new here is this is forecast to die off by Saturday Morning and Sunday looks great with NW winds from 5 to 10 knots.
As always, please keep a close eye on the latest forecast and conditions for your local area before you head out!
Synopsis for Inshore Waters of the Southern California Coast
Weak onshore flow will continue through Tuesday, with a weak and intermittent eddy at times.
Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA
Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI
Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —–
Bait Barge Contact Info
Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (6-7)
Mission Bay – 4-7″ sardine (6-3)
Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 4″ sardine. New hours for bait dock. Starting 5/27/19. 5 am-5pm.(6-6).
Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine + 4-5″ anchovy (6-7).
Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – sardine & anchovy (6-2)
Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – Live squid (limited amount) & sardine (6-7)
San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (6-3)
Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (6-3)
Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (6-3)
CISCOS Bait Barge – anchovy (6-6)
G-Fly Premium California Flying Fish Baits
These locations have locally caught frozen flying fish for bluefin in stock…
Hogans Tackle in Dana Point
Dana Landing in Mission Bay
Islands Fishing Tackle in Carson
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INSHORE & ISLANDS Section
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2019 Yellowtail Shootout is coming 6/21 – 6/23
Registration is open! Get your team together for the tournament weekend of June 21-23!
BD Outdoors will host a fun party June 23rd and award prizes to the 1st-5th place teams. The tournament party will also have an amazing raffle where you can win prizes from our sponsors. Lunch will be a bbq provided by Traeger Grills and we will keep your whistle wet thanks to Firestone Walker Brewing. See you at the tourney!
****** Limited Inshore Report Today ********
The offshore report is taking center stage now with the arrival of yellowfin tuna into areas inside of 50 miles from Point Loma. Much of the available time spent looking for information switched over to getting tuna dope and as a result the inshore report is less complete.
This will likely be the case from now until the tuna leave us in the fall.
There will still be an inshore report everyday but it is going to rely more heavily on member contributions.
Channel Islands
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
Today and Tonight
NW winds 20 to 30 kt with gusts to 35 kt.
Combined seas 10 to 11 ft dominant period 9 seconds, subsiding to 8 to 10 ft dominant period 9 seconds after midnight.
Good news is this is forecast to end by Saturday morning.
Sunday looks good with just light winds from 5 to 10 knots.
Fishing;
While the far western Islands were completely blown out the inner Islands of Santa Cruz and Anacapa were not.
The boats are seeing seabass in the Yellow Banks area on sonar and sometimes under birds but they are not biting very good.
Interestingly when they do bite they seem to want the red plastic tube baits more than anything else.
Some nice halibut are being caught in this area as well
Rockfish action is very good in the Gap between Cruz and Anacapa and the East Anacapa Reef is biting good too. Lots of red rockfish and whitefish.
Evening Update; Well those seabass in the Yellow Banks area did indeed go off today. The boats have been seeing them in the area for a while but not getting very many. Not today. They bite very good on those red plastic tube baits and in addition the boats got a pretty good whack on the yellowtail and some barracuda too.
Santa Monica Bay
Still nothing but rockfish and sculpin.
Sure wish some surface fish would move into the bay.
Some barracuda or bonito or yellowtail would sure be nice.
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach
Guys are starting to catch a few barracuda on the Horseshoe now. They are scattered about a little between the Middle Grounds and the Outside rock. A couple of guys did ok on cuds in the 30-35″ class by trolling the smaller X-Raps and Rapalas.
Watch for birds working bait. Barracuda will very often be on these.
Also be watching for bird schools on the Huntington Flats. This is a very common area for barracuda to show up
In other action the boats continue to catch rockfish on the Southeast Bank and sculpin on the various stone piles scattered around the 150
Catalina Island
Squid;
The Long Beach Carnage is out in front of Avalon selling squid.
They plan to be there through the weekend if at all possible.
The Kinely Marie is at Arrow Point with full tanks of squid for sale
Contact info;
Long Beach Carnage – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (562) 714-8103.
Kinely Marie – Contact them on VHF channel 11 or call them at (323) 742-2807
Fishing;
Yellowtail are biting again today at the West End front side spots. These yellows are biting the sardine just fine but if you have the squid they will chomp on that good too.
The guys with the squid are seeing a few seabass too. Not very many and you’ll be lucky if you get one but there are some being caught.
The big seabass bite on the back side west end spots died quickly. It was full speed a few evening ago and then nothing. No sign of them at all. Still it might be worth a look or any beach on the back side IF conditons look good meaning the milky-green water and downhill current flowing into the spot.
If the seabass are there you should see them on the sonar as they mark really good. (Do your best to be stealthy! Many experts say that once you mark them you should shut down the sonar as the seabass in general don’t like noise. Shut the engine off too leaving only the bait pump running. When you drop the anchor hand over hand the chain. Don’t let it bounce loudly on the side of the boat)
The rest of the reports from the Island are pretty much unchanged.
We posted this advice before and it is worth repeating….
******* Important General Info **********
Here is what you need to be one of those winning….
1. Live Squid. With out it you might score but the odds greatly favor having squid. Someday there is good fishing with the sardine and the surface iron but in general this is not the case.
2. Clean Water. The yellows right now seem to be concentrated in areas where the water is pretty clean and warm.
3. Downhill Current. This might be the most important of all as yellowtail just simply won’t bite without water movement.
4. Location. You have heard this before. It is all about location, location, location. If you are in an area devoid of yellowtail the odds of catching a yellowtail is very slim.
As for locations these seem to be changing daily. If you are in an area where they were caught yesterday but conditions are not right today the fish have likely moved on to where conditions are favorable. Be ready to adjust as needed.
*******
Best bet for yellowtail lately has been front side west centered around Stoney Point to Indian Rock but here is also a good chance to score back side east in the Silver Canyon / Salta Verde area.
Other areas seeing some signal of yellowtail this past week include the West End to Iron Bound, Little Harbor to Mills Landing, Farnsworth Bank, and the Can Dumps on the back side.
On the front the locations with yellows include the west end front spots already mentioned above plus the Isthmus Reef, Empire Landing/Yellowtail Point, Little Gibraltar, Hen Rock and the Condos.
Guys are also catching some barracuda and calico bass but not very many bonito lately.
In the deep water the fishing for rockfish remains very good at the West End Humps and off the East End.
Evening Report from William Nephew
Got this 33lb yellowtail at Farnsworth Bank on live squid today.
Didnt see much else happening but was able to land this toad.
San Clemente Island
Squid;
No change…
There is squid in Pyramid Cove near the Caves spot in 90 feet of water. Last night the boats made squid early well before midnight. We heard is was much tougher to make in the early AM before sunrise as there was a lot of sea lions on it then.
Fishing;
Good yellowtail fishing this morning. Some boats were into double digits by 8am. Some were up to 40+ by 10am.
No doubt the bite is good because there is good down hill current running today. On days the current isn’t running the bite is dead. When there is a just a little current the bite is a slow pick.
Bottom line… There are a LOT of yellowtail at the Island right now and if there is current you should do well. Some days when there is no current you would swear they are all gone.
The rest of the info below is unchanged from yesterday;
The yellows are running in 2 different size classes.
There is some 20-35lb stuff and some 6-15lb yellows.
The larger grade fish is being found in Pyramid Cove on the squid bed near the Caves in 90 feet of water. There is some seabass on this stuff too. Dropper loop live squid is the ticket here has been between 4am and 8am although there was a pretty good bite at mid day yesterday and the day before.
Fish these with HEAVY GEAR! 40-50lb is perfect. You do not want to have a hooked yellow or seabass in the water very long or it will become a sea lion snack.
The smaller grade yellows are spread out along the front side with the best concentration being found in the Gold Bluff/White Rock area. These yellows want the squid but when in a biting mood they have also been caught on the sardine and the surface iron.
General information…
Sea lions are a MAJOR issue! While the yellowtail and seabass bite has been on and off the sea lion problem is everyday!
They are stealing a lot of hooked fish and are not making things easy to catch squid either.
A lack of current has been a big issue too. Most days it has been slack or just a trickle. Without good current flowing these fish just do not want to bite very good if at all.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones.
Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
ANCHOVY! Yes the bait barge just got a load of killer anchovy so now there is killer bait for those calico bass.
Audio Report from Capt. Dave Hansen www.yoursaltwaterguide.com 1(949)374-0786
Evening Report from John Sushi Roll;
Launched out of Oceanside at 6 AM. Flat seas in the morning and great condition. Red tide still present in Oceanside. Pushed North to Barn Kelp. Wide open Calicos. Left them biting to go catch rockfish for dinner. Calicos were mostly short. A lot 13 inch bass. Caught 5 keepers, released all of them. 30 short 5 legal. One of them 22 inches! Steady rockfish at box canyon, none of them were huge. Headed in at 3 pm, typical chop heading home.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
Heard about a couple of yellowtail today. These are the first in a while since the red tide moved in.
Word is that is getting better.
One yellow was caught on a surface iron thrown at a spot of breezers on the outside edge of the NW Corner. The other was a troll rapala yellow out in front of the hotel along the kelp line.
Dirty brown green and 64 degrees lower end of Point Loma.
Little bit of rockfish but not much else. Current running out of the south.
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each.
Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——– Mexican waters ———
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico ñ An Angler’s Guide To Baja
by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
No report yet today.
Yesterday Mike on the Sea Section called in to report catching 5 yellows on a hot pink X-Rap along the weather side of South Island. He said he metered quite a few yellows there and felt if he had sardines he might have been able to get a bite going.
This is the best score in weeks. Hopefully it is the beginning of something good.
Water is cleaning up. 63-64 degrees.
Watch for an evening update.
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com.
Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. You can purchase bracelets for $5 per person per day at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle Shop, and Dana Landing Market & Fuel Dock. You will need to provide your boat name, boat owner’s name, number of passengers, and dates you will be in the reserve areas, but you don’t need any other special IDs or info to purchase the bracelets. Everyone on board must have a bracelet to enter the Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve boundaries are now available on the FishDope Charts (click the Closures layer). For more information, please see https://www.bdoutdoors.com/pacific-islands-biosphere-reserve/ and for the full Biosphere Reserve Declaration click here: (may need to refresh a few times to display the document ñ in Spanish)
The boundaries of the Biosphere reserve:
N32 20.000′ to N32 29.000′, and W117 12.000′ to W117 20.000′
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject
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The Mexican Navy is there and checking boats on a regular basis for Vessel Temporary Import Permit and Valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway).
Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
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OFFSHORE Section
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——- MEXICAN WATERS ————
9 Mile Bank / Coronado Canyon / 226-302
Got another report of yellowtail being seen on kelps in the Canyon. These do not want to bite though. They appeared to be nice fish in the 10-15lb class.
Our contact found them at 32 22 x 117 20 early in the morning on his way south to fish bluefin and yellowfin.
Corner / 226-302
This area saw some yellowfin jig stops today and some spots of 60-80lb bluefin were also found.
The zone was a 2-3 mile wide strip from roughly 32 32 x 117 45 down to about 32 20 x 117 41.
There are spots of the big ones near the 302 in a 4-5 mile block around 32 25 x 117 40.
371 / 425-101 / 475 Knuckle / Upper Hidden Bank / Hidden Bank
Bluefin;
Still plenty of bluefin around and they are spread out over a very wide area from the 226-302 area down through the 371 and east almost to the 475 Knuckle.
Today boats found a number of those little bluefin in the 25 to 30lb class and there continues to be some in the 50-90lb class and there are some schools of straight 100 to 160lb+ models too.
Best fishing continues to be late in the day from 4pm until an hour or so after sunset although the boats are picking off tuna all during the day too.
The fishing remains very hit and miss with boats that have a ton of chum doing best. Some schools respond well to the chum and come right to the corner while other schools could care less.
Guys fishing 40lb fluorocarbon and a small size 1 to 1/0 hook continue to do best as 99% of these bluefin are not willing to bite anything heavier when fly lining a sardine.
However guy using the sinker rig are getting bit on 50lb pretty good and even a few have bit the 60 when the bite was good.
The balloon/kite combo with the double trouble sardine rig is also accounting for a good number of bluefin and the beauty of this rig is you can get away with very HEAVY tackle. 100 to 130lb braid with the double trouble rig made out of 200 to even 300lb fluorocarbon is what the guys are using.
Bluefin Location(s);
The bluefin are being found in a number of areas now. They are also in the area near the 475 Knuckle from roughly 32 06 down to about 31 58 and east-west from about 117 09 out to about 117 15.
There is also some bluefin down the line in the 31 block towards Ensenada although we are told that a lot of these are in the 25-30lb class.
Yellowfin;
Most of the 15 to 25lb yellowfin are coming on jig stops. Sometimes there are a few bait fish too but not always.
A few jig stops have come from finding sonar marks but we are told most are just good old fashion blind jig stops.
The Halco’s are working well but guys are also getting stops on black/purple and Mexican flag feathers and jet heads.
Yellowfin Location(s);
The dope we got on the yellowfin was they were mostly below the 371 around 32 07 x 117 25 to 30 down to just above the Hidden Bank at 31 55 x 117 22 to 28
Yellowtail;
Kelps in general are not holding but there are some that are. These yellows are not biting very good though which is odd for kelp paddy yellowtail. These are nice yellows though in the 10 to 18lb class mostly so it is worth the time to at least check and see any kelp you happen to find is holding yellowtail.
And remember just because that last kelp didn’t bite does not mean the next one won’t. You just have to keep trying.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or yellowfin were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowfin were caught:
32 17 x 117 35 – Bluefin
32 15 x 117 26 – Bluefin
32 13 x 117 31 – Kelp paddy yellowtail (all 10-18lbs)
32 06 x 117 27 – Yellowfin jig stop. No bait fish
32 04 x 117 31 – Double yellowfin jig stop. No bait fish
32 00 x 117 30 – Bluefin
31 57 x 117 27 – Yellowfin jig stop
1140 Finger / Lower 500
There are yellowfin and bluefin in this area.
The yellowfin are mixed size with some little ones and some in the 18-25lb class.
The bluefin are mixed in size too with some little ones and some in the 60-80lb class
The yellowfin are coming on the troll with some bait fish while the bluefin are coming off sonar marks and in at least one case a yellowfin stop turned into bluefin after sitting on it for a while
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or yellowfin were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowfin were caught:
31 20 x 117 01 – Yellowfin jig stop
31.16 x 116 56 – Yellowfin and bluefin area
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All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful.
If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email.
reports@www.fishdope.com
1 (619) 992-6099